AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title is a riff on ling chi, the ancient Chinese method of torture and execution that bled the victim to death over an extended period of time using myriad small cuts (technically, the methodical removal of body parts). In English it is variously called "slow slicing," "lingering death," or "death by a … Continue reading The Ten of Swords: Success by a Thousand Cuts
Tarot Card Meanings
Stillness of Mind: An Evolutionary Quest
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I continue to draw inspiration from revisiting James Ricklef's Tarot Reading Explained, and in his description of the mental and emotional attributes of the King of Cups I found a brief mention of the "Zen practitioners whose pursuit of enlightenment values meditation and stillness of mind." I'm not a Buddhist, but that stillness … Continue reading Stillness of Mind: An Evolutionary Quest
The “Knight of Wants” – Reach vs. Grasp in Tarot Terms*
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"(Robert Browning) AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although the line from Browning's poem was clearly meant to be inspirational, in common usage the phrase "his reach exceeds his grasp" is intended to mean that the individual is aspiring to a lofty summit that he can't … Continue reading The “Knight of Wants” – Reach vs. Grasp in Tarot Terms*
The Major Arcana As Personality Types
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In an r/tarot sub-reddit thread, someone asked about an old post (not one of mine) that gave definitions for the trump cards as "people." It's more common to treat the court cards as representing other individuals involved in the querent's circumstances, but I was intrigued by the idea that one of the Major … Continue reading The Major Arcana As Personality Types
Reversal as “Underdeveloped Potential”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Over the years I've formulated and applied my own style of reversed-card interpretation, and I finally concluded that inversion of the image doesn't materially alter the core meaning of the upright presentation, just redirects it in various subtle ways as detailed in my nearly two dozen previous essays on the subject. The required … Continue reading Reversal as “Underdeveloped Potential”
The Empress Reversed: “A Woman Scorned”
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"- from The Mourning Bride by William Congreve (1697) AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of my favorite portrayals of scandalized female propriety occurred in the old Chiffon margarine TV commercial, in which a regal woman (who had been deceived by Chiffon's buttery flavor) intoned acidly over rumbling background thunder: "It's … Continue reading The Empress Reversed: “A Woman Scorned”
Status-Quo Cards (as in “Maintaining the . . . “)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a recent post I mentioned that the Hierophant, due to his conventional and conservative appointment, can be viewed as an example of "maintaining the status quo." (I've also called it the "don't-rock-the-boat" card.) There are a number of other cards that convey a similar sentiment. Because the Major Arcana represent an archetypal … Continue reading Status-Quo Cards (as in “Maintaining the . . . “)
The 6 of Swords: Steering by Troubled Waters
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In an old post of several years ago I mentioned a sidelight to the RWS version of this card that views the choppy surface to the right of the boat as driving it toward the calmer waters to its left and thus uneventfully on to the far shore. An interlude of "smooth sailing … Continue reading The 6 of Swords: Steering by Troubled Waters
A Reversed-Card Digest: King of Cups, 6 of Cups and 8 of Wands
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is no connection between these cards other than the fact of reversal. They weren't part of an involved study, just the subject of three different pending essays that I compiled to clear out my backlog of unpublished posts. These vignettes are prime examples of my present approach to reversals; they were inspired … Continue reading A Reversed-Card Digest: King of Cups, 6 of Cups and 8 of Wands
Lunar Month Look-Ahead, April-May, 2026
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I haven't done one of these in quite a while. These readings are normally based on the titles for the eight lunar sub-phases from astrologer Dane Rudhyar's Lunation Cycle, but this time I'm using astronomical notation. Each sub-phase lasts approximately 3.5 days. There are no other position meanings, it is mainly a timing … Continue reading Lunar Month Look-Ahead, April-May, 2026
